Zim clamps down on illegal recruitment

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has said the Government is strengthening inter-agency cooperation to deal with unscrupulous recruitment agencies using unethical means to recruit desperate job seekers and ultimately subjecting them to human trafficking and exploitation.

He said regional mechanisms to deal with issues of unfair and unethical recruitment in the Sadc region, particularly personnel from the health sector and other specialist areas targeted in the post-Covid-19 pandemic era must be developed.

Zimbabwe has experienced cases of human trafficking of its nationals with trafficking in persons, particularly women and children becoming a global problem.

More than 200 Zimbabwean women were victims of human trafficking in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other Middle East countries over the past few years. The women were trafficked after falling prey to human trafficking scams.

Efforts were made by the Government to assist the victims, but only 128 women were rescued and repatriated.

A majority of women are lured by promises of attractive, well-paying jobs offered by agents of criminal networks without realising the full nature of their future employment or the working conditions.

Officially opening the High-Level Tripartite Dialogue on Labour Migration Governance in the Sadc region in Victoria Falls yesterday, President Mnangagwa, who was represented by his deputy, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, said his administration was also in the process of finalising standard operating procedures to guide the recruitment of personnel from Zimbabwe.

“In the case of Zimbabwe, we have strengthened inter-agency cooperation to deal with unscrupulous recruitment agencies who seek to recruit our human capital through unethical means, which eventually subject labour migrants to human trafficking and exploitation,” he said.

“My government is also in the process of finalising standard operating procedures to guide the recruitment of personnel from Zimbabwe. This approach enables us to ensure coherence among state and non-state actors involved in the recruitment of our citizens on both the regional and international labour markets.”

President Mnangagwa commended countries in the Sadc region for prioritising the issue of developing strategies on how to protect migrant workers and job seekers from the unscrupulous activities of recruiters, which have led to increased rates of labour exploitation.

“The high-level discourse around fair and ethical recruitment practices clearly shows that is an area of high priority in the region. To this end, member states have committed themselves to align with outputs under the Sadc Labour Migration Action Plan,” he said.

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